Music Taylor Swift

Samid

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#82 "Castles Crumbling" ft. Hayley Williams (From The Vault) (2023)


A slightly dramatic ballad where Taylor contemplates her legacy falling apart, imagining a world where she’s no longer trusted by fans. This was written around the time of the Kanye/VMA incident. She thought the crowd was booing her and not him. Must have been daunting.

Hayley from Paramore is an awesome vocalist.

 

Samid

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#81 "Sad Beautiful Tragic" (2012)


Just another well-written song. Speaks volumes of Red when this is one of the least popular songs on the entire album. Rolling Stone didn't rank this as top 100 greatest albums of all time for no reason.

 

68cob

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Has any other band/artist had a similar thread dragged out on this forum? It's horrible to think if not, that people might think Swifty is musically representative of United fans. Good grief.
 

Mike Smalling

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Kids I can understand. Grown men though? :nervous:
But why does anyone care :lol: ? Grown men like anime, fart porn, cricket, and all other kinds of degenerate stuff. Why draw the line at Taylor Swift. Leave them to it.
 
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RedNome

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So, this playlist is for people who might be curious as to why Taylor Swift is so popular and haven't heard anything they think warrants the attention.

I have skipped the first 3 albums, "Taylor Swift", "Fearless", and "Speak Now". "Speak Now" has a couple songs that are beginning to show the final form of Taylor Swift, but they are marred by really heavy handed production. The first two are country pop juvenalia that I don't find interesting.

To appreciate Swift, you need to approach the music without expecting her to be like the giants of music in your own hall of fame. She's not Dylan. I think if you can appreciate pure melody, harmony, counter melodies, and pop song craft - as you would if you were a fan of The Beach Boys - you can hear her talent. She has used cowriters on most of her hits, but she does play guitar and piano and write most of the material. She's not an empty frame, like most pop divas.

Taylor took one step into pop with her 4th album, "RED", (Taylor's a red!), where she mixed emotional songs with joyous party anthems. This was when she was 22, and the song of the same name reflects this new carefree, fun attitude. Still not fully formed in terms of her voice as an artist, but fun.

Her next album, "1989" firmly eschewed the country pop and aimed for a commercial pop sound, resulting in her worldwide smash hit (which I haven't included, you've heard it enough). I didn't fully understand "1989" until I heard Ryan Adams' stripped down semi-acoustic version of the album. Then the song structures, lyrics, and melodies came through.

She followed up this pop album with an overproduced mess "Reputation", which was a reaction to being ensnared in the shitty pop world of Kanye and the Kardashians. Despite the production, there are still some great songs that come through.

"Lover" is a record made for dance parties. Some great melodies, about half the album is fluff. Up until this point, Taylor has been hitting about 50% on her albums, half the songs disappearing in clouds of cotton candy.

Then she did her two stripped down pandemic albums, and this is where the true artist came to the fore.

Her latest album, "Midnights", is a more adult contemporary album within the world of pop. Still writes some bangers, but also turns a bit introspective.
 

Snowjoe

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It’s the lack of any obvious audience for this thread that adds to the borderline insane vibe. Along with the whole full grown adult male Taylor Swift super fan thing.
mate you’ve made 130k posts on a football forum to be fair not sure anyone here is in any position to judge
 

HTG

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It’s the lack of any obvious audience for this thread that adds to the borderline insane vibe. Along with the whole full grown adult male Taylor Swift super fan thing.
What makes you think there’s no audience? I like the posts. I think so do others. They might actually post in here more often, if the thread wasn’t full with miserable pricks who struggle to see others have a little fun.
 

Pogue Mahone

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What makes you think there’s no audience? I like the posts. I think so do others. They might actually post in here more often, if the thread wasn’t full with miserable pricks who struggle to see others have a little fun.
Oh I’m sorry. We’re stopping you guys having fun. I had no idea. Swifty’s really are sensitive souls. Although I guess I should have known that…
 

HTG

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Oh I’m sorry. We’re stopping you guys having fun. I had no idea. Swifty’s really are sensitive souls. Although I guess I should have known that…
We’re in touch with our feelings. So no need for misplaced anger, like you have.
 

Abizzz

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What makes you think there’s no audience? I like the posts. I think so do others. They might actually post in here more often, if the thread wasn’t full with miserable pricks who struggle to see others have a little fun.
For a smidgen of balance: I clicked play on 3 of those songs an all of them were awful. Not in a painful way, but in a emotionless, flavorless, endless tube of dullness way.

They sounded what I imagine an AI would make if you told it to make something that sounds like the feeling antidepressants induce.
 

zaafi

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It truly is mindless music. So much different music, sounds and subgenres, and Taylor Swift is what you end up listening to. Mind-boggling stuff, but each to their own, I guess.
 

Mike Smalling

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For a smidgen of balance: I clicked play on 3 of those songs an all of them were awful. Not in a painful way, but in a emotionless, flavorless, endless tube of dullness way.

They sounded what I imagine an AI would make if you told it to make something that sounds like the feeling antidepressants induce.
Well of course, we haven't even gotten to the top 50 yet. Check back in around April, when the good stuff is coming :drool:
 

cafecillos

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If all this were about a relatively underground artist, although still rather odd in a football forum, it would possibly be commendable, but it's about the fecking single most popular singer alive. Even for uninterested music listeners, the unrequested exposure to Swift in real life is already insane, I don't think even more of that is needed, at all.
 

HTG

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If all this were about a relatively underground artist, although still rather odd in a football forum, it would possibly be commendable, but it's about the fecking single most popular singer alive. Even for uninterested music listeners, the unrequested exposure to Swift in real life is already insane, I don't think even more of that is needed, at all.
You requested this exposure, though. You actively entered a thread about her. You know you can just ignore the thread, right? You can actually click a button to help you do this.
 

Mike Smalling

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Which is weirder?

A) Some guy making a Top 100 list of songs by a famous pop artist to an admittedly limited audience.
B) Several angry middle-aged men wading into the thread unprompted to whine about it.
 

cafecillos

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You requested this exposure, though. You actively entered a thread about her. You know you can just ignore the thread, right? You can actually click a button to help you do this.
Actually yes, I knew about the ignore function but I hardly use it and had sort of forgotten about it :lol:
 
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Pogue Mahone

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Which is weirder?

A) Some guy making a Top 100 list of songs by a famous pop artist to an admittedly limited audience.
B) Several angry middle-aged men wading into the thread unprompted to whine about it.
You seem to be seriously underestimating how little it takes for people on the caf to post in threads they have zero interest in. This place is all a massive waste of time. When the alternative is moaning about Rashford or the state of our midfield then some light Swifty baiting is a blessed relief.
 

Mike Smalling

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You seem to be seriously underestimating how little it takes for people on the caf to post in threads they have zero interest in. This place is all a massive waste of time. When the alternative is moaning about Rashford or the state of our midfield then some light Swifty baiting is a blessed relief.
Yes, there is truth to this, although I wonder who is really baiting who in this thread :lol: It might just be a big circle-bait.

For some of the "protesters" it seems mostly tongue-in-cheek, but others seem genuinely frustrated that grown men are fans of Taylor Swift, which is just daft to me.
 

68cob

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Yes, there is truth to this, although I wonder who is really baiting who in this thread :lol: It might just be a big circle-bait.
For some of the "protesters" it seems mostly tongue-in-cheek, but others seem genuinely frustrated that grown men are fans of Taylor Swift, which is just daft to me.
I think your 'protests' at those supposedly 'protesting' is the dafter of the two ;) (winky to indicate I for one, don't really give a feck)
 

Mike Smalling

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I think your 'protests' at those supposedly 'protesting' is the dafter of the two ;) (winky to indicate I for one, don't really give a feck)
I just want Samid to have a good time with his project without being bullied :angel: And clearly, I am bored myself.
 

Mike Smalling

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I'm still unsure whether Samid means it or whether he's winding us all up.
If it's an elaborate wind-up over several months, you have to respect that. Unless he is just copy-pasting this from some other list online.